


The Scarlet Tree

by the_irish_mayhem



Series: A Spark Within [6]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Badass Katara (Avatar), Bloodbending (Avatar), Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Gen, Post-Avatar: The Last Airbender
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-27
Updated: 2020-05-27
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:55:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24399847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_irish_mayhem/pseuds/the_irish_mayhem
Summary: Toph and Aang need Fire Lady Katara to advise on a bloodbending case in Republic City.Or: The Yakone vs. Katara bloodbending battle that we were owed.
Relationships: Aang/Toph Beifong, Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: A Spark Within [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1759237
Comments: 37
Kudos: 540





	The Scarlet Tree

**Author's Note:**

> I couldn't have been the only one who hoped that the flashback from Legend of Korra was going to involve my favorite waterbender saving Aang from Yakone. That scenario escalated into this fic.
> 
> This was originally going to go up for Zutara Month Day 11: Secret, but it also works a bit for today’s prompt, which is Sacrifice.

**128 AG**

**Year of the Rat**

**Republic City**

“It’s a beautiful theory, Aang, but we’re not going to be able to convince people of any of it,” Toph says, voice soft, cognizant of the two children sleeping down the hall. “Yakone’s been weaseling out of charges for years. We can’t do this again unless it’s airtight.”

Their kitchen is dimly lit by a lamp in the center of the table, and a Republic City Police file is spread out across the surface. Aang is seated on one end, fingers idly toying with a witness statement taken a few months prior, while his wife paces like a caged animal at the opposite end.

“We already have ten willing witnesses,” Aang replies, matching her quiet tone, “and I’m willing to bet we can find more. A _lot_ more.”

“Look, I hear you, I do, but I can also hear what his defense attorney is going to say--bloodbending is extremely rare, and Yakone has airtight alibis during full moons,” Toph says.

“Just because it’s never been done before doesn’t mean it isn’t possible,” Aang says. “You of all people should know that.”

Toph’s expression twists, and she stops pacing. For all her tense mannerisms, she looks surprisingly calm, if in a sour mood. The soft slope of her nose and the defiance in her jaw are highlighted by the dim firelight, and he wishes he could tell her that she’s beautiful, but he suspects that wouldn’t get him very far this evening. (Not that that particular compliment gets him very far often, but what kind of husband would he be if he never said it at all?)

“It seems unfair that something so awful might have no limits,” she finally says.

Aang sighs. He certainly doesn’t disagree. “It takes a prodigal waterbender to be able to do it in the first place. It’s not like we’ve met an abundance of benders with the ability.”

“Speaking of prodigal waterbenders, maybe we ask Katara about it,” she asks. She rests her fists on the table, knuckles pressed to the papers. “She probably has a better idea on how to handle this than we do.”

“Do I hear… a trip to visit the Fire Nation?” Aang asks with a growing look of delight on his face.

Toph smiles at the suggestion. “It’s been a while since we paid Sugar Queen and Sparky a visit. I’m sure Tenzin and Lin would love to see their cousins.”

Aang replies, “I can arrange for an airship. Next week sound okay to you?”

“Why not take Appa for old times’ sake?”

“If you’d like to be stuck on an air bison with an eight and a nine year old all the way to the Fire Nation…”

Toph pales. “Yeah, an airship is probably a better option; although, you might be able to convince Tenzin to meditate all the way there.”

A beat of silence passes, and though she can’t see him, Aang is grinning like an idiot at her.

“What?” she asks.

“The domineering Toph Beifong, so easily convinced to take time off? Who are you and what have you done with my wife?”

She smirks right back. “We’re doing this so we can finally arrest Yakone, not take leisurely strolls on beaches.”

“Oh, I think I can convince you to take at least one stroll.”

“Keep me out of the sand, and I might consider it, Twinkletoes.”

Aang groans. “Is there going to be a certain anniversary we hit when I can finally get rid of that nickname?”

“You always ask, and my answer is always the same.”

He shakes his head, fondness tightening his chest. “Here, I’ll clean this up,” he says, scraping the files into a pile. She’d brought them home for his benefit, after all. “You’ve had a long day. Head up to bed, and I’ll see you there.”

Toph chuckles. “ _I’m_ the master here.” She doesn’t give any other protest, kisses his cheek, and plods down the hallway to their bedroom.

Aang finishes up in the kitchen, and quickly checks on Tenzin and Lin, both sleeping soundly, and heads to bed himself.

* * *

It’s just past midday, and the sun is high in the sky on a cloudless, hot day in the Fire Nation. The capital city is abuzz with life--benders and non-benders alike seek out merchants and street vendors, construction crews break in shaded areas and guzzle water brought in by ostrich horse-drawn carts, tea shop owners hawk their custom blends across busy streets, school children are released for the day, and the city itself seems alive, pulsing and breathing like any one of its citizens.

In the Caldera, Fire Lady Katara looks out over the city from a balcony of the palace. Even after nearly 25 years of living here, she still doesn’t care for how the mouth of the ancient volcano holds them separate from the outlying city districts. Despite the expansion of the city and various programs she and Zuko had created targeting class stratification, it still feels far too guarded. Considering that the Caldera is mostly just residences of those able to afford the outrageous prices (a group that, historically, has not been Katara’s biggest fan), it doesn’t really hold the same place in Katara’s heart that the city at large does.

“What are you thinking about?”

Katara looks over her shoulder to find her husband approaching. He looks every inch an intimidating Fire Lord, what with the spiked epaulettes on the elaborate robes and the traditional headpiece tucked into his topknot, but the dorky grin he’s got on is purely Zuko and purely for her.

It makes her grin back, and she looks back out over the city as he comes to stand next to her.

“I’m trying to judge how much the Council would hate me if I suggested demolishing the volcano.”

He hums thoughtfully. “Well, significantly more than when you wanted to build the first publicly funded school, but probably less than when you suggested decriminalizing prostitution.”

“What I’m hearing are a bunch of fights that I _did_ win, so…”

“How about this: we wait until the day before we abdicate, then do it, and let Izumi deal with the fallout.”

Katara laughs. “She’s a peacekeeper at heart, so there might be some merit there.” She leans into his side and he puts an arm around her in response. “Are the kids done with their lessons?” she asks.

“Yes, they just finished. They’re excited to see Tenzin and Lin. Or,” he amends, “Kya is excited to see them. I can’t really tell if Kyokani remembers them, or if he’s just feeding off of Kya’s excitement. And Iroh is exactly how I was at sixteen.”

Katara rolls her eyes. “Evil and angsty?”

“I did not think anyone could out-angst me, but our son has done it.”

Katara scoffs. “I’m not so sure about that.”

Zuko smiles wistfully. “I wish Suki and Sokka could be here too. It feels like it’s been so long since we’ve properly gotten everyone together.”

“Spirits, it must have been at least a Council or two ago.” She sighs deeply. “Remember when we were hiding out on Ember Island when we were kids? It was only a few days before Sozin’s Comet, but we were…” She sighs again. “I don’t ever want to go to war again, but sometimes I really, _really_ miss those days. Us, all together.”

“Me too,” he agrees. “It was so much simpler in a lot of ways, too. Teach Aang bending. Beat the Fire Lord. Win the war.”

Katara hums in agreement. “Before we had to worry about things like securing funding for social welfare programs and economic development variables and social statistics surveys.”

“Hey, I didn’t have much of a choice, but you voluntarily signed up for all of that when you married me.”

She grins. “I suppose so. It was a good deal, if you ask me,” she says before leaning over to kiss his cheek. He turns his head so he catches her lips with his. 21 years of marriage and four children later, their kisses don’t always render her weak in the knees like they used to. Rather, it’s bracing, reassuring, a small reminder in a day of distractions that they are not alone.

She pulls back with a sigh and stares out across the Caldera once more.

Their conversation trails into light political discussion, as many of their conversations are wont to do during their working hours. The funding for the hospital on Hing Wa Island that would complete a ten year project to bring publicly-funded medical care to every island had finally ground its way through the political process. The completion of the Hing Wa Hospital would kick off the next phase of Katara’s plan to expand the existing hospital system in the Earth Kingdom, and hopefully her careful planning in coordination with the Northern and Southern Water Tribes would mean that there would be at least one healer in most of the major regions. (“Oh!” she exclaims, “It will coincide perfectly with the end of her semester, so Izumi might be able to join me.”)

There is also, of course, the United Republic of Nations, which is an ever-growing and changing responsibility for them. Zuko and Katara are the only ones currently not living there of the original Team Avatar, so their involvement hasn’t been as hands-on in the last few years. It’s not strange for Aang and Toph to want them to advise on something, but it is slightly out-of-the-ordinary for them to not share what that something is in a letter.

They don’t have to wonder about it for very long.

“Your Majesties,” one of their messengers says, and they turn to face him. “Apologies for disturbing you.”

“It’s no worry, Xi,” Zuko says. “What is it?”

“Avatar Aang and Chief Beifong have arrived from Republic City.”

* * *

On a balcony overlooking one of the courtyards where their children play together (and the young Iroh sits grumpily off to the side), the old friends catch up over steaming cups of tea.

(Tenzin’s airbending is progressing quickly, and Lin still can’t metal bend.) 

(Izumi likes studying in Ba Sing Se, Iroh strives for new levels of teen angst every day, Kya healed her first papercut last week, and Kyokani hasn’t bent anything just yet.) 

Katara had asked eagerly after her brother and his wife and kids. 

(Sokka is tackling the challenges of being on Republic City’s Council like he does everything in life--cleverly and without reservation. Suki’s expansion of the Kyoshi Warriors past their ancestral borders has been hitting a few snags. Luna and Ukira have recently begun their training to become Kyoshi Warriors, like their mother before them.)

But alas, the subject at hand raises its nasty head much sooner than they would’ve liked.

“Yakone,” Zuko growls when Toph and Aang share their reason for visiting. “That perpetual thorn in our sides is still alive?”

“Unfortunately,” Toph replies.

“So what’s he done this time?” Katara asks. “Please tell me it’s something you guys can actually convict him on.”

Aang winces. “That’s… where things get complicated.”

“Complicated how?” Zuko asks.

Aang scratches the back of his neck. “Well…”

Toph swings into it with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer, “We think Yakone is a bloodbender.”

They can hear the shouts of their children below in the courtyard, the sounds of joy discordant with the tone their conversation has veered into.

“Well, shit,” Katara says.

Zuko looks over at her with widened eyes. “Usually you’re the diplomatic one.”

“Well, I can’t really think of a diplomatic way to react to that revelation.”

Toph says, “How’s this for shit: based on what witnesses have said, it looks like he can bloodbend without a full moon.”

Zuko and Katara share a loaded look.

Aang blinks. “You… don’t seem surprised.” He glances between the two. “We came to ask you if you thought it could be possible. We have witnesses, but--”

“It’s possible,” Katara interrupts, calm and sure.

A heavy beat passes before Aang asks, “Have you-- Katara, have you done it?”

She lets out a long breath before she explains, “Until now, Hama was the only other bloodbender we’d ever met, and she told us that a full moon was necessary for the technique. And…” Katara sighs softly. “And for Hama, the full moon _was_ necessary, but my bending is stronger than hers was. The full moon certainly makes it easier, but it’s not required.”

“Katara--”

“Don’t start with me, Aang.” Under the table, Zuko takes her hand. “When I first did it, I swore I would never do it again. It felt… wrong and barbaric, and that was never something I had ever associated with my bending.

“But I realized years ago that by cutting myself off from the possibilities--”

“What possibilities?” Aang asks, heated. “We outlawed it for a reason. You fought for it as much as anyone else!”

Katara lets out an exasperated breath. “Have you forgotten already, my pupil?” she says with a wry edge. “Waterbending isn’t all about fighting.”

“Healing,” Toph surmises. “You used it for healing.”

“Yes,” Katara answers. “One of the biggest drawbacks of healing with water is that deeper, more serious injuries are often harder and take longer to fix. But if we can heal someone using their blood, then healing those injuries will be faster and much less taxing. And perhaps someday it won’t be just injuries we can fix. Illness, maiming, wounds that could’ve been crippling or fatal…”

Aang sighs. “You can save more people,” he concludes.

“Yes,” she replies.

He does have the good sense to look sheepish. “Sorry for assuming the worst. Sifu Katara,” he adds with a little mock bow, just to make her smile.

It works, but it’s tempered. “Look, I _get_ your reluctance,” Katara says. “Really, I do. When we made it illegal, it was meant to be a bottle stopper on a technique that can easily be abused, but if what you’re saying about Yakone is true, then the bottle is leaking.”

“So how do we stop it?” Aang asks.

“Well, a good start would be putting Yakone in prison once and for all,” Katara says.

Zuko says, “He’s managed to weasel his way out of all the charges that have been brought against him. Trying to convince people that he can bloodbend without a full moon won’t be easy. What evidence do you have so far?”

“Witnesses,” Toph answers. “Lots of them.”

Katara says, “You’ll have a tough time getting enough credible witnesses who tell a consistent story to convince people that something thought to be impossible is possible.”

Aang says, “We’ve already got a dozen ready and willing to share what they saw.”

“That won’t be enough,” Zuko says.

“We’re working on that,” Toph says, “and we have leads for at least ten--”

“What if I testified?” Katara asks suddenly.

“No,” Zuko says. “Katara, you can’t be serious.”

“I am serious,” she says. “I’m a bloodbender who can do the technique you’re trying to convince people is possible. That would mean the burden of proof is moved away from proving it’s possible to proving that Yakone can do and _has_ done it.”

Toph nods along with her words, and says in response, “That’s actually a really good idea. If we can get the Council to focus on the testimony rather than the bending…”

“And get the Fire Lady,” Aang says, “one of the most powerful politicians in the world, to admit on record that she _also_ can do and has done something that illegal?”

Zuko looks over at Katara as if to say _See?_

She sighs. “I can’t just turn my back on Republic City because we’ve been keeping my bloodbending a secret. It sounds like we have a chance, a _real_ chance, to finally put Yakone away, and if I don’t do everything I can to ensure that that happens, then how can I look myself in the mirror and say I’m trying to make the world a better place?”

“Think about the political implications,” Zuko says, and gets a strange look on his face. “I can’t believe _I’m_ the one saying that to _you_ right now but seriously. Agni knows how many enemies we have, and this would be the exact sort of thing to give them more wind in their sails. Plus, with all the fearmongering that went on about bloodbending after the war, testifying that you can do it whenever you want? People are going to fear you,” he shakes his head, expression sad.

“Give the people some credit,” Toph says. “Katara is probably the most popular public figure in the world behind Aang. People freaking love her. What kind of evil bloodbending witch builds hospitals for poor people?”

A silence draws over the table. An impasse.

In true Avatar fashion, Aang breaks the silence by saying, “I propose a compromise.” He smiles ruefully. “I think with the case we’re building, the evidence and the witnesses Toph has found, I think it will be enough.” He turns to Toph, “You trust the people enough to not turn on Katara, but not enough to rely on the witnesses to help convict Yakone? Look,” he continues, looking between all of them, “I think this time we will have enough to convict him. My worry is that when the time comes and he is convicted, he will not take that lying down.”

Katara nods slowly. “If he is as talented a bender as you say, and based on what we know about him, I doubt he goes quietly.”

“Exactly,” Aang says. “We need someone who could go up against him.” He looks meaningfully at Katara. “Instead of testifying, you provide backup in case we lose control. If that happens, I will take his bending away.”

Zuko says, “I still don’t like the idea of Katara exposing herself like that. But,” he tacks on at his wife’s look, “it’s not the worst plan.”

“It leaves a lot up to chance,” Katara says, but it is not a disagreement.

Aang replies, “So does _any_ plan. This is the one with the least risk and highest reward.”

Katara contemplates silently for a few moments, a finger stroking her chin. “I think this could work, and taking his bending seems like the safest way to handle him. Toph,” she says, “what do you think?”

Toph groans and slouches back in her seat, tipping her head back and saying her next words to the sky, “I think we’re going to have to find the best prosecutor in Republic City, because this is going to be a _fight_.”

* * *

“We have dozens of witnesses, Yakone. We know what you are.”

Yakone growls as metal cuffs are bent onto his wrists, “I’ve beaten every trumped up charge you yahoos have brought against me, and I’ll beat this one too.”

“Get him out of here,” Toph says, and he allows himself to be escorted out of the restaurant by two officers, and the doors slam shut behind him. This leaves her and Aang standing next to each other, the silence that has descended just shy of eerie.

Aang’s face is grim. “Now comes the hard part.”

* * *

Several weeks later, the case of Republic City versus Yakone of the Southern Water Tribe is heard by the sitting United Republic Council.

Katara dresses down for the occasion, leaving behind her Fire Lady regalia and headpiece in favor of a short-sleeved, fur-trimmed amauti belted across her waist, sealskin boots, and a long, indigo blue skirt slit up the sides to just above her knee to allow full range of movement. She looks no different than any other Water Tribe woman and blends in with the onlookers who have come to witness the open door spectacle that is Yakone’s (hopefully last) trial.

In trying to remain anonymous, Aang and Toph agreed to not interact with her; Sokka doesn’t even know she’s here. It hurts to keep a secret from him, but with his duty to remain impartial, it’s better to keep him in the dark.

(Initially, Zuko had wanted to send security with her, but she rolled her eyes. “Zuko, I _am_ the security.” She had eventually relented in the face of her husband’s genuine concern and agreed to take two Kyoshi-trained bodyguards with her, both of whom are also anonymously dressed and seated far enough from her to maintain their cover.)

(It is much harder for her husband to remain anonymous in this city, so he agrees to watch the children and wait for them at Aang and Toph’s home on Air Temple Island.)

(She can’t wait to tell Sokka that the Fire Lord is babysitting.)

Katara prays the two flasks of water she has attached to her belt prove unnecessary. Hopefully, _any_ bending will be unnecessary. She hasn’t used bloodbending as a weapon in many years, and she isn’t keen to break her streak.

As she settles into a seat in the middle of the rows of tables and chairs in the main room of City Hall, Katara lets her eyes make a sweep of the room. The architecture is decidedly modern, but takes many cues from all four nations. The sweeping, high ceilings remind her of many grand rooms in the Fire Palace. The solid marble pillars and stone pilasters are uniquely Earth Kingdom. The open room looking up to the many different floors of the building invoke the Air Temples. The graceful arches, including the embellished one behind the Council’s dais, are very clearly inspired by the Northern Water Tribe. 

(Katara wishes she could see something distinctively inspired by the South Pole, but their architectural heritage had been all but lost. Despite years having passed since the end of the war, its scars linger in the most unexpected ways.)

The Council files into the hall, and the constant murmur of the gathered crowd dies out and the councilmembers take their seats. Sokka, keeping with his duties as chairman, begins the proceedings. He lists the date and location for the benefit of the stenographer, going through the various things that need to be recorded for posterity. Katara can feel the tension ratcheting up in the room as Sokka details the rules of the courtroom and warns that disruptive individuals will be escorted out.

“With that settled, please bring out the accused.”

Yakone has aged since Katara had last seen him. Unsurprising, since that must’ve been ten or so years past that she was face to face with him. He looks entirely too confident for a man on trial. It rankles something in her that he thinks he can just spit in the face of the laws they put in place to secure peace, that people can let the wounds of war fester and sow the very same discord that caused their wounds in the first place.

Once Yakone is seated, Sokka asks counsel to present their opening arguments.

The prosecutor representing Republic City stands and begins, “Yakone has ruled Republic City’s criminal empire for years, yet he has always managed to stay out of the law’s reach… Until now. You will hear testimony from dozens of his victims, and they will tell you Yakone has maintained his grip on the underworld by using an ability that has been illegal for decades. Bloodbending.” She continues to lay out the case for the Council, and Katara must admit, she spins a compelling narrative. As she summarizes the case Toph and Aang have built against him, Katara glances around the room. Most of the faces she sees are nodding, and a few murmured words of agreement reach her ears. At the very least it would seem the public is on their side, but that doesn’t mean conviction is a given.

Sokka had told her that the representatives from the Earth Kingdom and the Northern Water Tribe have been the holdouts on convicting Yakone, citing the heavily circumstantial evidence. (“It’s not like they’re exactly wrong,” Sokka had said, “but come _on_. When even circumstantial evidence piles up like that, something is fishy.”) A conviction was anything but guaranteed. And if they manage to secure a guilty verdict, then there’s the matter of if Yakone will go quietly.

After the prosecutor wraps up her speech, she is seated, and Yakone’s defense attorney stands and delivers his own argument.

“The prosecution’s entire case is built upon the make believe notion that my client is able to bloodbend at will, at any time on any day. I remind the council that bloodbending is an incredibly rare skill and it can only be performed during a full moon,” he says, and Katara shifts in her seat. Perhaps it had been a mistake for her to conceal her abilities. At least then the public would be able to hear the witness testimony with the full truth already known.

He continues, “Yet, the witnesses will claim that my client used bloodbending at every other time except during a full moon. It would be a mockery of justice to convict a man of a crime that is impossible to commit.” For several more minutes, the attorney continues in this vein, impugning the witnesses’ character and motives and maintaining that Yakone is a victim of partisan politics and a smear campaign. It’s difficult for Katara to listen to without wanting to break something.

When Yakone’s attorney concludes, Sokka asks for witnesses, and the trial itself truly begins.

* * *

It’s a grueling trial. In total, it ends up lasting something like twenty-two hours with dozens of witnesses testifying to what they saw. Person after person, from a variety of backgrounds and nations. Shopkeepers and artisans, stay-at-home mothers and military veterans, jailhouse informants and former gang members, and all say the same thing: Yakone is a bloodbender, and he doesn’t need the full moon to do it.

Katara has to hand it to Aang and Toph--they did not take any shortcuts on their investigation. The testimony had been thorough, brutal, and consistent. Somewhere around the seventh witness, the defense attorney’s arguments became progressively more repetitive and less believable. In short, it had been utterly damning.

“Councilman Sokka will now deliver the verdict.”

Her brother stands, looking out across the gathered crowd. “In my years, I have encountered people born with rare and unique bending abilities. I once bested a man with my trusty boomerang who was able to firebend with his mind.” That makes Katara crack a grin. Of course he’d find a way to bring up his boomerang. At least he skipped over the name he’d given to said firebender.

Sooka continues, “Why, even metalbending was considered impossible for all of history until our esteemed chief of police Toph Beifong single-handedly developed the skill. The overwhelming amount of testimony and evidence has convinced this council that Yakone is one of these unique benders, and he exploited his ability to commit these heinous crimes. We find Yakone guilty of all charges and sentence him to life in prison.”

A gavel bang officially adjourns the court, and they have done it. Yakone is going away for good.

This is what they were hoping for, and also the situation they were dreading. Katara tenses in her seat, shifting forward with her eyes locked on Yakone.

Initially, he is still. His attorney wads a sheet of paper and throws it across the room with a huff. Two metalbenders come to take him away.

Then Yakone stands. She cannot see his hands, but Katara can feel the exact moment he starts to bend.

She was only fourteen last time someone bent her blood, nearly thirty years ago now but the sensation slides over her like a familiar, unwelcome caress. Her muscles seize, her veins throb, and for a handful of fearful seconds, Katara is afraid that she isn’t strong enough to beat him.

He’s bloodbending an entire room full of people, the Council, the crowd, Toph, and even Aang.

Aang appears to be fighting against the control, his hand shaking with exertion as he reaches out towards Yakone.

As a groaning Toph is forced to undo his shackles, Aang grits out, “Yakone, you won’t get away with this.”

Yakone forcefully drops his arms, and Katara can feel it in the rush of her blood--he’s going to knock everyone out. As everyone in the room drops, Katara breathes and controls her fear. She stops the rush of her blood away from her head. She feels the hush and whisper of the water moving in her flasks, and when she pushes herself, she can feel the same movement in everyone around her, the push and pull of blood through their veins like the push and pull of the sea.

As much as Hama was dangerous, she was also right. Water is everywhere. Katara is surrounded by it, and when she is surrounded by her element, she cannot lose.

Yakone laughs and turns toward Aang, still frozen, and lifts him into the air. “Republic City is mine, Avatar. I’ll be back one day to claim it.”

The mobster makes a move to throw Aang into the stairs at the foot of the Council’s table, but finds himself quite suddenly stopped.

“Over my dead body,” Katara calls out, and steps out into the aisle between the tables, hands before her in bloodbending form. She can feel his blood flowing through his body, the shape of the circulatory system like a scarlet tree running through him, and it is hers to control.

Aang drops like a sack of flour, and Katara winces as he hits the floor.

“That could be arranged, Fire Lady,” Yakone growls, and Katara gasps and he wrenches himself from her control and the full force of his bloodbending hits her like a runaway wagon.

He is powerful. Far more powerful than Hama. The fear of being weaker than him slams into her again as he lifts her off the floor. The breath is forced from her lungs as her head is jerked backwards. She grits her teeth together, trying to wrest control of her body back, but he’s fighting her.

“You’re strong,” Yakone says, a touch of strain in his deep voice, “but not strong enough.”

She feels as though she is about to explode, but he is _not_ stronger than her. “Funny,” she wheezes, “I was about to say the same to _you!_ ” On her last word, she finally breaks her arms free of his control and hurls Yakone into a pillar. His back collides with the surface, and his head snaps backwards and cracks against the marble.

Katara drops, grunting when she hits the floor, but she finds her feet again fast. She’s gasping with exertion, but she cannot let her guard down now. She will not lose.

Unfortunately, the hit against the pillar wasn’t as severe as it sounded, as Yakone is already standing again.

“You little brat,” he says, and before she can stop him, he picks her up and returns the favor, sending her flying backwards, all the way to the doors of City Hall. They shatter under the force of her body, and shards of wood slice through her skin and clothing. She maintains the presence of mind to bend the water out of her flasks and create a wall of ice that she slides up against before she can go tumbling down the stairs.

She staggers to her feet, her head pounding from the impact and her joints reminding her that she is not as young as she once was.

Yakone follows her out, pace measured and slow--perhaps her throw had done more damage than he let on. Katara takes quick stock of herself--the cuts from her unpleasant trip through the door are superficial, and her head’s throbbing is quieting. Nothing is broken, though her ankle might be slightly twisted. Nothing that will make her unable to fight.

She prays that Aang won’t be down for long, and bends like her life depends on it.

She’s never been in a bloodbending fight like this. It’s always been the case where she was clearly stronger, like with Hama, or her opponent was not a waterbender, like when she and Zuko went after the Southern Raiders. But this is her seizing control of Yakone and trying to force him to his knees, and then him wresting back control and trying to dislocate her shoulders. Her joints and tendons creak, her heart heaves in confusion in her chest, and a pained groan forces its way out of her throat.

This is Katara managing to break free just before the joints pop out of place and throwing Yakone down the stairs to give herself a moment of respite. Sweat beads on her forehead as she bends the water she’d brought with her over Yakone, freezing him in place.

Her bonds don’t last long as he melts the water and sends it back in her direction. He bends it into a dozen daggers, razor sharp and coming at her fast. Taking control of her blood, Yakone holds her directly in their path.

With a pained shout, Katara manages to take control of her body back in time to dodge out of the way, tucking and rolling. She comes up onto one knee and reaches out to take hold of Yakone’s blood once more.

This back and forth is exhausting, the unnatural movements forced onto her body make her feel bruised and raw, and doing this technique under the sun is no small task.

She tries to do what Yakone did earlier, tries to force his blood away from his head and make him pass out like he’d done to the whole courtroom, but he manages to hold her off. She can see the strain on his face and is gratified that she’s not the only one struggling.

She grits her teeth, pushing at his blood harder.

With a tortured shout, Yakone takes his own blood back. Katara stumbles, and he presses his advantage. She finds herself pushed down onto the ground, first her knees, then her hands, Yakone pressing down against her back. If she cedes her ability to move, if he manages to get her face down on the ground, she won’t be able to bend. She will lose.

Kicking one of her knees up so she rests on just the one, Katara looses her arms from Yakone’s control. In a move that was adapted from firebending, she punches out with her arms quickly, one aimed for the blood in his chest and the other towards his knees.

The first lands hard, she can feel the blood shimmering under the impact as the breath is driven from his lungs and he loses his grip on Katara. The second is a lighter hit--less blood in the joints, but it is effective in breaking his root and knocking him off balance. Katara pushes forward, taking on the traditional bloodbending form as she forces him down to his knees.

“Katara!”

Thank the _Spirits_. Aang shoots out of City Hall faster than an eel hound, riding a ball of compressed air.

Her hands shake as she attempts to keep her hold fast.

“Aang, now!” she shouts.

The years haven’t dulled their ability to work together, and Aang understands exactly what she wants from him. The ball of air dissolves beneath him as he adopts an earthbending stance. With a jab upwards, he bends a tight funnel of rock up and around Yakone, immobilizing him.

Katara stumbles backwards as she finally releases Yakone’s blood and a wave of exhaustion goes over her. She braces her hands on her knees as she watches Aang approach Yakone.

“I’m taking away your bending for good,” Aang says. Between one heartbeat and the next, Aang enters the Avatar State. His eyes and tattoos take on a familiar glow. His hands go to Yakone’s head and chest, and a few seconds later, it is over. Yakone slumps down as much as the rock prison allows.

“Katara!” Aang calls out again, rushing to her side. “Are you all right?”

She grunts as she puts a little bit of weight on the bad ankle. Definitely a sprain, but not severe. She bends the water across City Hall’s steps back into the flask, but saves a little over her hands and sets about healing the bleeding cuts across her body. Zuko would probably have an aneurysm if she came back bleeding. As it is, he’ll probably have at least a minor meltdown looking at the tattered and bloody state of her clothing. “I’m okay.” She looks past him at Yakone, whose eyes are closed as if asleep. “He’s down?”

Aang nods. “He’ll never bend again.”

Katara nods and bends the water on her hands back into her flasks. “Good, because I’d just like to go on record as saying I _never_ want to do that again.”

Aang steps forward and hugs her tightly. He really can give some of the best hugs--he’s always solid and warm, his robes are soft and smell faintly of incense, and his height and long limbs mean she always feels surrounded by his affection and sincerity. There’s a part of her that misses when he was younger, when he was the kid that she was responsible for, the kid she needed to protect and take care of. But this? This is it’s own kind of better.

“I’m sorry you had to do it at all,” Aang says softly.

“Necessary sacrifices. It’s what needed to be done,” Katara says. She lingers in his embrace for a few more seconds before she pulls away.

“And you’re sure you’re okay?”

“I will be. I think I just need some rest.” She chuckles breathlessly. “I feel like I just ran a marathon.”

“Here, I’ll call Appa for you so you can get back to Air Temple Island--”

“No,” she interrupts gently. “I want to see this through.”

And as much as collapsing on a bed right now sounds appealing, it is not too much of a task to see Yakone off to prison and ensure that everyone who was a victim of his bending in the courtroom is unharmed.

Toph lets off some creative expletives when Katara revives her, and Aang hugs her desperately before she can go off on a rampage. Toph softens, and the pair kiss before they pull away from each other. Toph punches Katara in the arm in both greeting and gratitude.

Sokka comes back to in a similar fashion, and is livid in turn about Katara having to fight Yakone by herself and also about missing an “epic bloodbending battle.” She can sense that he’s a little hurt she never told him about her full bloodbending abilities, but he keeps it to himself for now. She owes him a full explanation later, when it’s just the two of them. She’s always hated keeping secrets from him. 

(There’s also a part of her that knows he’s going to censure her for pushing to illegalize something and then continuing to do it behind everyone’s backs. And perhaps he’ll be right to be mad, but that’s just going to have to be a bridge she’ll cross when she gets to it. If there’s one thing she hates more than keeping secrets from Sokka, it’s him being disappointed in her.)

Aang eventually does call for Appa once the chaos of the day has settled and Toph puts her second-in-command in control of the rest of the cleanup, and the bison takes them all to Air Temple Island. Despite the ride only taking ten minutes, Katara nearly falls asleep on Sokka’s shoulder.

When they arrive, Suki is already there with a worried Zuko standing next to her.

“We heard what happened,” Suki says in explanation, and Zuko rushes over to Appa and helps Sokka get Katara out of the saddle. She feels a little pathetic that she can barely stand on her own and has to have her brother and husband practically lift her down, but mostly she’s grateful.

Zuko’s hug is tighter than Aang’s was, and she can feel the minuscule shakes going through him. A ball of tension lingering in her chest finally eases as she clutches him back. “It’s been so long since we’ve had to fight anyone,” he whispers. “I forgot how scary it is to send you off on your own.”

“I know,” she replies, stroking a hand through his hair. It’s completely unbound, a rarity he only indulges in when in the most intimate of settings, and it allows fingers to run through it without interruption. “But I’m alright. My whole body feels like a giant bruise and I want to go to bed in the middle of the afternoon, but I’m alright.”

His arms tighten around her again, and he kisses her hair.

All too soon, or perhaps not soon enough, reality comes rushing back in the form of their children.

“Mom!”

She’d expected Kyokani or Kya, their exuberance at seeing their mother still untempered, but to her surprise and delight, it’s Iroh who calls out to her. He runs up to her and hugs her with a similar degree of desperation as his father had, and Katara has to hold back tears.

It’s not that Iroh isn’t a loving, wonderful son (in spite of the brooding angst that had bloomed not long after he’d turned sixteen), but he’s going through a phase where hugging his mom is not exactly on the top of the list of things he wants to do. But Spirits, if he isn’t hugging her now like he had when he was six years old and was frightened by the Dragon Catacombs when he’d stumbled upon them while alone.

She supposes it makes sense--they hadn’t told their youngest children much beyond the fact that Mom needed to help Uncle Aang and Aunt Toph take down a bad guy. However, Iroh knows exactly who Yakone is and exactly how much danger his mother was just in. (Katara imagines she’ll be getting an earful from Izumi about her safety next time she sees her. Her firstborn is a lot like her father in that way.)

She’s hears a high pitched, “Mama!” and looks over Iroh’s shoulder to find little Kyokani with Kya hot on his heels racing to greet her. Katara can’t bring herself to let go of her oldest son just yet, and with a grin brings him down to his knees with her so that she can have all her kids in her arms at once. Iroh, surprisingly, doesn’t complain. “Did you and Uncle Aang and Aunt Toph get the bad guy?” Kyo asks.

“Yeah,” Katara chuckles. “We got him.”

“Was there a big fight?” asks Kya, and their little group hug begins to disperse as it’s clear Kya and Kyokani want the story of how they got the bad guy.

Katara laughs. “Yes, there was a big fight.”

“Whoa,” Kya says with wide eyes. “And you beat him?”

“Well,” Katara says with a small shrug, “Uncle Aang helped a little bit.”

Aang gives Appa a parting pat and turns with his hands on his hips. “Hey, I did more than a little bit!”

“He came in at the end,” Katara stage whispers. When she moves to stand again, she loses her balance a bit. “Oof.” She’s steadied by Iroh’s hand on her back.

“Mom, are you alright?” Iroh asks.

“Just tired,” she tells him, and pats his cheek. “Thank you.”

“Mom you gotta tell us about the big fight!” Kya asks, tugging at her mother’s skirt.

“Hey, I can tell you about it!” Aang says, and then he crouches down. “Also, I want a hug too!”

“Me three!” says Sokka, and the youngest of the Fire Nation clan scatters to hug their favorite uncles.

Katara elbows Iroh, who is still standing next to her with a look of worry on his face. “Go say hi to your uncles and aunts. Aunt Toph also probably wants a hug, even if she’s not going to ask for one.”

Iroh nods and does as he’s told. (And yes, Aunt Toph absolutely did want a hug. Katara can almost hear Iroh’s bones crack under her grip from where she stands.)

Then Zuko comes to her side and takes her hand. He says, “They’re going to distract them for a while so that you can go get some rest.”

Suki, who’d been waiting to join the fray of hugs, says, “There’s a guest room set up for you just off the main hall. Zuko knows where it is.” She looks back at the Temple and then back at Katara, “You might want to go before Luna and Ukira get wind that you’re here. I trust Tenzin and Lin to be a little more restrained, but--”

“Wait,” Katara says, “they’re all here? I shouldn’t be sleeping while everyone is here.” She wishes even more fervently that Izumi was home. Then her family would truly be complete.

“Hey,” Zuko says softly, squeezing her hand, “everyone will still be here when you wake up.”

It takes a bit more cajoling to get Katara to the guest room, but once she lies down, Zuko sitting next to the bed and promising to stay until she falls asleep, it’s almost no time at all before she drifts off.

After all, she’d always slept best surrounded by the people she loves.


End file.
